It just so happened that for most of my life I've lived in the suburbs.

My mythic version of America is very much about parents and children, and in my experience, the suburban setting is where that particular drama plays out. Which isn't to say that there aren't parents and children in cities or on farms. I just don't know them.

Jill felt an emptiness open inside of her as she lifted her arm, a sense that something vital was being subtracted from her life. It was always like that when somebody you cared about went away, even when you knew it was inevitable, and it probably wasn't your fault.

I find that even small changes sometimes jog you out of a mental rut.

It just took some people a little longer than others to realize how few words they needed to get by, how much of life they could negotiate in silence.

There's not some finite amount of pain inside us. Our bodies and minds just keep manufacturing more of it.

When things don't go well, it helps to think of yourself as a genius and the rest of the world as a bunch of idiots.